Labor Secretary Thomas Perez: Bump in minimum wage won’t cost jobs

Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez said Tuesday that it is time to raise the minimum wage and said he does not buy the Republican argument that a federally mandated increase will cost jobs.

Mr. Perez said, during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” that people who work a full-time job shouldn’t have to live in poverty — as the Obama administration pushes to crank up pressure on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour and index the rate to inflation.

Asked whether Mr. Obama’s proposed wage bump would kill jobs, Mr. Perez said that after talking to small businesses across the country and investigating the issue, he is convinced it will not.